


The One You Gave Me

by YaGirlJuniper



Series: Juniper's Touhou Fan Canon [3]
Category: Touhou Project
Genre: ADHD, Autism, Body Type Headcanons, Day 1 - Firsts/Reunion, Digital Art, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, F/F, Flowers, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Girls Kissing, Headcanon, Long-Term Relationship(s), Magic, Marisa is Fat, Reimu and Marisa are autistic, Reimu and Marisa have ADHD, Reimu is Brown, Reminiscing, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Skin Color Headcanons, Touhou Ship Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25425625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YaGirlJuniper/pseuds/YaGirlJuniper
Summary: Reimu picks a rose and reminisces about the first time she'd ever been given flowers by a girl. That girl soon shows up and they bond over their memories of the day, some happy, some not.Part of Touhou Ship Week 2020 - Day 1: Firsts/Reunion!
Relationships: Hakurei Reimu/Kirisame Marisa
Series: Juniper's Touhou Fan Canon [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1320842
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8
Collections: Touhou Ship Week





	The One You Gave Me

**Author's Note:**

> Contains commissioned art by PotetoJpg on Twitter. Check them out!
> 
> There's gonna be typos, I stayed up all honking day to get this done and it's STILL late for the day it was meant to be for. Oh well!

_Snip._

A rose, bright and red. Careful not to prick herself on its thorns, Reimu clipped it off, held it to her nose and smelled until she could inhale no more. A smile cracked as her lips fluttered with delight, as though tasting the air, the rose touching all her senses at once. If she closed her eyes, she could still hear it. The snap of Marisa’s fingers.

_Thk._

The way she’d winked as she held out her hand, the way the golden magic sparks pulled in and took the form of a rose as red as this. No thorns. She could still remember the room as it filled with the smell of roses. She had been so young. A teenager at most.

As Reimu clipped the thorns off one by one, she heard footsteps coming from behind on the stone brick path, boots whose toes slid out to the side as they marched. She knew whose they were. That’s how she walked. Reimu smiled and tucked the rose into her sleeve, pretending not to notice a shadow casting that unmistakable silhouette along the ground as the footfalls stopped, at whose sight, Reimu tingled.

Her vision went dark as a pair of rough but squishy hands gently cupped over her eyes. She felt soft warmth on her shoulder blades and lower back. Higher than usual. She felt the vibrations from Marisa’s chest against her back as she murmured her deep and feminine, “Guess who?”

Reimu’s grin was fit to burst, her cheeks alight like embers. “Are you standing on the broom?”

Marisa paused for far too long before she answered, “……………no.”

Reimu nudged her hands aside. “You liar.” She turned around and saw her standing on the broom to meet her eye-to-eye. “Here I go.”

Marisa’s eyes went wide as Reimu’s powerful arms slid around her, with barely the time to gasp and pucker up before Reimu’s lips had melted into hers. Marisa’s eyes closed and breath gushed out her nose as she felt Reimu’s hand rub against the small of her back. Tender kisses flowed between them, one after another, and the rush of it all dizzied Marisa so much she didn’t realize she was falling until she felt an arm brace against her upper back. Her eyes cracked ajar as she felt a strong hand cradle the back of her head. Reimu was wearing her hat now. It must have fallen off. Foreheads touching, Marisa closed her eyes and puckered up for one last long and gentle kiss.

Marisa hung in Reimu’s arms like putty, smiling up through lazy eyelids at the hat this woman had taken from her. “Nuts. The tail’s all crooked again.”

Reimu smiled, casting a shadow from above. “You fix it. My hands are full.”

Marisa’s hand glided toward it but came up short, and as it slid against Reimu’s rippling shoulder muscles, she melted once again, eyes sliding shut.

Reimu’s smile bore a tinge of anger, but only just. “That’s not your hat.”

Marisa smugly swung an arm to her side. “Found some’n’ better.”

Reimu tried to pout but she was smiling too hard. “Don’t get distracted.”

Marisa shook her head with eyes aflutter. “You know I will.”

Marisa jolted with surprise as she felt Reimu swing her back upright. “Okay, you lazy little thingamabob, I’m putting you down now.”

Marisa planted her feet on the ground and straightened out her clothes. “Yeah, of course. Don’t hurt your back, babe.”

Reimu’s arms flung around her from behind again. “You worry too much. Be happy today.”

Another kiss landed on Marisa’s cheek just beside her eye, which closed as she chuckled, arm instinctively swinging up to hold her hand. “Aw, okay.”

Marisa leaned back into Reimu’s warm embrace and they rocked together, side-to-side, not a word between them. She sighed and smiled as Reimu’s finger stroked the soft underside of her chin. “I am happy, though.”

“Good.” Reimu reached into her sleeve and pulled out a rose with all its thorns cut off and held it out in front of her.

Marisa blushed and took it with a tender smile. “Was waitin’ for this. Every year when the roses bloom, you give me one. Like clockwork.” Marisa straightened up its petals. “It’s perfect I tell ya.”

Reimu stroked her chubby cheek. “Not as perfect as the one you gave me, all those years ago.”

Marisa said between her laughs, “You _still_ thinkin’ about that?”

“Mm.” Reimu snuggled the top of her head with her cheek. “It was the first time a girl had ever given me flowers. Never knew how much I’d love it until it happened. Much as you can be a goof, you nailed it. I’ve been smitten ever since.”

 _Thk._ Marisa pumped her fist as she snapped, a wicked twinkle in her eye. “Damn, I’m better than I thought!”

“Ahahahahahahaha!” Reimu laughed and squeezed her from behind, kissing the back of her head.

Marisa held the rose against her chest. “Was the first time I’d ever cast that spell, too. Planned to come to your house, read the spell book, understand it right away, then wait for you to ask me to make some’n’ with it, then hand you a rose I’d popped into existence.” Marisa stared ahead with weary eyes. “An’ I almost blew it.”

“Ahah,” Reimu chuckled. “I was trying to read and you snapped your fingers so many times I wanted to rip my hair out.”

Marisa turned her head and cringed. “ _Tsk,_ was harder than I was expecting.” She glared aside with both hands on her hips. “It was basic magic, so I thought I’d get it right away.” She swept both hands out to her sides and flicked her wrists, rolling her eyes as her head straightened out. “Overestimated myself, like always.” She folded her arms and looked at the ground. “You got sick o’ me and banged the table and yelled at me and I wanted to _die_.”

Reimu stared off to the side herself. “I’m sorry.”

Marisa shrugged, hands at her front, and turned her head to look back up. “It’s all right! I’ve said it before!” She tucked her hands under her elbows, against her chest. “Not your fault at all. That was mine. Wasn’t thinking. Sharp noises like that bother you, and you like your quiet when you read.”

“You didn’t know that yet, and if it hadn’t happened the way it did, I don’t think I would have liked you as much as I do.” With a hand on her shoulder, Reimu walked around to Marisa’s front and held her shoulders, her ruby eyes gazing from above. “It wasn’t just that you gave me the rose, it was everything else before it that really made me want you to pull it off.”

Marisa’s eyes tucked themselves in a corner to hide. “I was being annoying.”

Reimu leaned her forehead into hers. “You couldn’t focus.” Marisa’s glistening eyes swiveled up. “You were snapping because you were trying to think, because if you don’t do something with your hands, it stresses you out.”

Marisa sank. “The book was too dense and I lost my place, and I wasn't even doing it right anyway. I was pathetic. Started whining about how I pissed everyone off all the time cuz I couldn’t stop myself from snapping all the time, so I was try’n’a turn my habit into some’n’ cool by usin’ it to cast a spell.”

“And when you said that, that’s when I started to _like_ you.” Reimu pushed her chest in for emphasis.

Marisa lifted her head up and blinked at her. “That!?”

Reimu nodded with a heartfelt smile. “Yes.”

Marisa’s eyebrows scrunched with confusion. “I don’t get it.”

Reimu rested her wrists on Marisa’s shoulders and let her hands dangle against her back. “I know what it’s like for people you love to get tired of you, to hate you for who you really are, over things you can’t control for reasons even you don’t understand. I felt _bad_ that I'd yelled at you. I heard you say that and thought, ‘god, she’s just like me,’ and from then on, it didn’t bother me anymore to hear you snap your fingers, it made me happy. It told me you were still there, that you weren’t sick of me yet either.”

Tears exploded from Marisa’s eyes and she sobbed into the collar of Reimu’s shirt, and Reimu hugged her tightly and rocked her back and forth. Marisa whimpered, muffled against her clothes, “I’ll never get sick of anything you do, Reimu…! I love it all so much…!”

Reimu rubbed her back. “I know. I feel the same way. All the stupid little things—”

Marisa picked her head up and smiled at her. “Yeah!”

Reimu smiled back. “…just make me smile and laugh.” They gazed at each other, smiling in silence until Reimu’s grin widened further still. “Your laugh!”

“Oh no- _hahaha-!_ ” Marisa stuffed her giggle back into her throat, pulled back, and turned away. "Ahem."

“I’ll never forget the first time I heard your goofy little laugh!”

“ _That_ stupid thing.” Marisa lolled her head to the side with a frustrated grin as she said it. “There’s times when I laugh, and there’s times when I Do The Laugh, and it pisses me off that you love the second one as much as you do.”

“It was right after you cast the spell. I got up and was so excited when you finally did it, and then you laughed like that, and tried to play it off like you were clearing your throat instead or something.”

Marisa blushed and looked at the rose as she fiddled with it, spinning it by the stem. “You’d winked at me, that triggered the spark of emotion I needed to cast the spell, and I was nervous and shocked that I'd impressed you as much as I had, so… yeah. I bounced back though.”

“When you handed me the rose, I blushed like I’d never blushed before, and when I tried to smell it?” Reimu flatly swiped her hand in an arc. _“Nothing.”_

“That’s right!” Marisa bounced her palm off her forehead.

Reimu smiled with fists balled at her chest. “And then you overdid it and snapped again and made my whole room smell like roses for an hour!”

Marisa turned away and folded her arms. “Mmhmm.”

Reimu’s hand graced against her chest and her head waved side to side. “And when I pointed it out, I’ll _never_ forget what you said as you tried to play it off.”

Marisa lifted a hand to the side of her head.

_Thk._

The broom took off from where it lay, plucked Marisa’s hat from off of Reimu’s head with its handle and carried it over. Marisa snatched it, put it on, grabbed the broom, twirled it, and as it spun its handle knocked the crooked tail of her hat and straightened it out. She spun around with a cocky smirk.

Reimu balled her fists in front of her mouth.

With the tip of her broom, Marisa tilted the brim of her hat up and purred, “Seduction’s all about power.” She winked and pressed two fingers to her lips, kissed, aimed, and gently blew. A sparkling golden trail of magic swirled off her fingers and loosely looped over Reimu’s shoulders and around her neck, and as the golden dust converged, a garland of white lilies faded in.

Reimu’s eyes bulged as she blushed, then she melted with a breathy sigh, hugging and bunching the garland at her chest.

Marisa moseyed over, hips swaying with every step. “Bit better’n last time, ‘uh?”

Reimu smelled the flowers and rubbed them against her cheek. They looked, felt, and smelled completely real. “It’s hard to say. That _was_ really cool and sexy, but that _first_ time…”

Marisa sighed and spread her arms at her sides. “Look, I know you love the laugh, but apart from that, what could I have _possibly_ done that you liked more than this?”

“You confessed.”

Marisa blinked and straightened up, then turned away with a smile. “Oh… wasn’t an I-love-you though, just a…” Marisa stuffed her hands into her pockets, blushed, and rocked on her heels. “It _was_ sort of a confession, though, I guess.”

Reimu fiddled with the garland, sliding her nail along the stems. “Before that day, I thought you were fake, trying to seem cool when you weren’t at all.”

“Ehh…” Marisa shrugged, rocking her hands up and down like arms on a weighing scale. “Kinda was, kinda am?”

Reimu waved that off. “No, no. People bully you for all the things you are, so you turn all those things into something to be proud of instead. You’re framing yourself the best way that you can, and when you pull it off, it _is_ cool.”

Marisa blushed again, lips crinkling in a squiggled line. She tried to smile, but she scowled instead out the side of her eyes. “Okay, but y’can’t make me love the laugh, all right?”

“Why _not!?_ ” Reimu thrust her hands into her lap, then clenched her fists and leaned in. “It’s adorable!”

Marisa waved her hands around her head. “It’s so stupid and goofy and… _ugh!”_ She shuddered and turned away.

“It’s not! It’s cute and it’s charming and everybody loves it! It’s…” Reimu lips moved but no sound came out. “I can’t even describe it, it’s _iconic,_ and I’ll just make it sound weird and bad, and I refuse to do that.”

Marisa folded her arms and glanced back. “Not so fun when it’s you who has to do it, huh?”

Reimu pounded her lap. “That is _not_ it! I think the first time I heard you laugh like that, that’s the _moment_ I fell in love, and every time I hear that laugh, I fall in love again!”

Marisa palmed her face and pulled the brim of her hat down over her eyes with both hands. “Kill me.” She folded her arms and sulked.

Reimu’s lips curled into a catlike smile as she paced around behind her. “I have a better idea.” Reimu slid her arms around her from behind and around her belly.

Marisa’s eyes popped open and she swiftly grabbed her wrists. “What are you doing!?”

Reimu grumpily huffed. “What’s it _look_ like I’m doing?”

Marisa turned to her and frowned. “Don’t you do it.”

Reimu blinked and pretended not to know what she meant. “Do what?”

“Oh, you know!” Marisa flung a finger into her face, furious, but smiling all the same. “You _know_ I giggle like an idiot every time you do _that!_ You _know_ I can’t stop myself!”

Reimu huffed indignantly. “You’re so paranoid! I’m just giving you a hug.”

Marisa tried to pry her off as hard as she could, but Reimu was too strong to be budged. “Yeah, yeah, y’know what? Sometimes I’m _exactly_ as paranoid as I need to be, and this is one of those times, I can feel it in my gu—” Marisa slapped her hand into her face.

Reimu trembled with glee and snorted. _“Snkkkkk!”_

Marisa covered her ears. “SHUT UP SHUT UP SH’HHHH—” Her face collapsed into her hands as she wheezed and tried to stop herself from laughing, and as she stumbled out of Reimu’s grip, every visible inch of her body turned bright pink. “NOOO!!”

Reimu squealed with glee. “I DIDN’T EVEN DO ANYTHING!!”

“I KNOW-HHHHHH DAMN I’HHHHHHHH!!” She doubled over, holding her stomach, trembling with stifled laughs. “JUST DO IT REIMU, I PLAYED MYSELF, IT’S TOO LATE, I FAILED, JUST LEMME PRETEND THIS WAS YOUR FAULT.”

Reimu wrapped her arms around her waist again. “Okay.”

Marisa covered her eyes, still winding down from laughter. "Aaaaah~ you piss me off so much sometimes."

Reimu chuckled with a grin. "You're smiling."

"I KNOW AND I HATE IT!!" Marisa hopped in place, stomping her feet and pounding her fists in the air. She took a deep breath and sighed, holding half of her face in one hand. “H'aww man…”

Reimu stopped and stroked her chubby cheek. “Is it really okay?”

Marisa leaned her head into her hand. “Yeah, I’m fine, I…” She held Reimu’s hand and kissed her fingers, then turned her hand over and slid her cheek into Reimu’s palm. “Darn it, Reimu, y’really do love every stupid little thing about me.”

Reimu nodded. “I do.” Her other hand rubbed up and down Marisa’s belly, and Marisa gently squealed; grinning, blushing, and tingling with glee. She covered her mouth. It was a smile she was too embarrassed to let the world see, but Reimu knew it was there. She smiled and rubbed a little faster this time. “I do, you little whatchamacallit, I do.”

_Pat pat._

Marisa’s eyes squeezed shut and she squealed and squirmed and blasted into a giddy belly laugh. ** _“D’HAAAA, HA-HAAA, HA-HAAA, HA-HAAA, HA-HA-HAH!”_ **As she started to pull back into composure, the laugh petered out into tiny little feminine giggles, _“khnk-khnk-khnk-khnk-khnk-khnk-! **”**_ as she ran out of breath, she gasped in air again, and it sounded like a long, stretched, wheezing hiccup. _“Hnnnnnnnnnnnk!!”_

With every step that it took, Reimu’s smile widened until it grimaced with tearful cries. **“You did the laaaaaugh!!”** Reimu squeezed her and snuggled her as hard as she could. “You did the laugh, you did the laugh!!” She pushed a loud kiss against her cheek. _“Mmmmm-wah!”_ She sniffled as tears slid down her nose.

Marisa cocked an eyebrow. “Are you _crying?”_

 ** _“Yes!”_** Reimu shouted, pulling back and looking her in the eye. “It’s my favorite sound in the whole wide world, and ever since I told you, you won’t let yourself do it!” Reimu’s ribbon even wilted. “I’m always so scared each time will be the last time I get to hear it.”

Marisa blinked, gaped, and grew an inch with surprise. As her body relaxed, her head turned down as though something dawned her that she’d never seen before.

Reimu fluffed the garland around and bounced it. “I can’t believe you made this thing out of _Lilies._ You are such a _dork._ Just drop an anvil on my foot that weighs ‘I’m gay’, it would be less obvious.”

Marisa blushed and cackled again. **_“Ahaaa, ha-haaa, ha-ha!_** You’re right. You’re so— _right.”_ Marsia nodded. “I get it now. I…” She paused and let out an accepting sigh. “I’m short, I’m fat, I’m a bookish nerd, I can’t sit still to save my life, I laugh like a goofball, I dress like I’m going to a costume party every day, I got more frizz than an abandoned shag rug, I never shut the hell up about the same two or three things day in and day out, but y’know what? None o’ that means I can’t be cool. I prove it every day. I pretended to believe it, but… you… _did._ I’ve always been so scared people will see me for who I am and find out I’m a failure, but I’m _not_ a failure. I don’t have to pretend to not be those things. I _am_ those things, and it doesn’t stop me. I’m still tied for fastest in all of Gensokyo, second best Youkai Hunter there is, and y’know what? That’s pretty darn cool.”

_Thk._

Marisa pointed and winked and proudly nodded, presenting the same rose Reimu gave her before. It appeared in her hand as she'd snapped as if by magic, but Reimu knew it had been from sleight of hand alone. It had been the same gesture, the same wink, the same swagger.

Reimu blushed and turned away, hands over her mouth. She wouldn't open her eyes as she pawed the air to try and take it, voice sheepishly warbling as she spoke. “That's right." Marisa placed the stem between her fingers and Reimu plucked it and held it to her nose, smelling until she could inhale no more. Her smile widened, lips fluttering with delight, as though tasting the air. It was definitely the same one from before. Her eyes cracked open. "I love you.”

Marisa's brow twinged with pangs of affection, her arms twisted like licorice around each other, hands clasping in reverse. "I love you too."

Reimu leaned in closer, as if expectantly waiting.

Marisa unwound her arms and took Reimu by the hand which held the rose, and with the other, brushed aside a lock of hair in Reimu’s face. “You good?”

Reimu smiled. “Never better.”

Marisa stood on her tiptoes, Reimu closed her eyes, and they kissed, holding the rose together beside them.

**Author's Note:**

> The Japanese word for White Lilies is "yuri," and this same word is also the name of a genre of lesbian romance.
> 
> So Marisa literally wrapped Reimu in a garland made of yuri, which she created with magic by blowing a kiss. Subtle she ain't.


End file.
